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The HomePod launches in Japan and Taiwan on August 23

2019 August 16

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Back at the beginning of July, Apple confirmed that the company’s first smart speaker, the HomePod, would arrive in Japan sometime this summer. And now we know exactly when.

The HomePod will launch both in Japan and Taiwan on Friday, August 23. Ahead of that date, though, the company has opened pre-orders for the smart speaker in both regions. If you are in either market, you can pre-order the smart speaker in Japan or Taiwan right now.

In Japan, the HomePod is priced at ¥32,800, while in Taiwan the device retails for NT$9,900. For those keeping track, that means the HomePod is $10 more expensive in Japan than in the United States, and $15 more expensive in Taiwan than in the U.S. Apple officially added support for Japan and Taiwan regions with the public launch of iOS 12.4 earlier this year.

Despite a price drop for the HomePod, down to $300 from $349, the smart speaker is still struggling in the market. At this point, the HomePod is available in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Launching the smart speaker in additional markets will certainly help boost sales, but will it be enough to take on the leaders Google and Amazon?

Do you own a HomePod? If so, are you happy with the company’s first smart speaker?